Don’t Gain the Holiday 5

by tinareale on November 1, 2012

Morning! I hope none of you suffer from a candy hangover this morning. If so, then I hope it is at least from things you love. Don’t dwell on it and pick back up with some healthy habits first thing today. I know you can do it.

I always think the holiday season “kicks off” with Halloween. Ah, the holidays. That joyful time of year…and that healthy habit breaking time of year. Well, I have a special read for you today that could possibly help you avoid the healthy habit busting side of the holidays. Read on, my friends. Read on.

My good blog pal, Amanda, has a wonderful holiday challenge idea to keep you inspired, on track, and accountable for the holidays. In fact, she does such a good job telling all about it, I’m going to let her do that right here, right now, with a special guest post. Take it away, Amanda!

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The freshman 15, the holiday 5, the post wedding bliss 20…is anyone else concerned that we have started to name all the times when we simply expect to gain weight? I don’t know about you, but I’d prefer not to start the New Year with a goal to shed 5lbs that I put on in the previous two months.

Instead, let’s make a pact to work together to enjoy grandma’s special meals in moderation, the office cookie party, while remaining active and reach January 1 feeling our absolute best! Instead of being one of the gym newbies, we will be the regulars who can help motivate them to get started.

Since it’s never easy to take on a challenge alone, I started the Holiday Bootie Buster Challenge 5 years ago to help my readers and I stay active. Last year it exploded to over 1,000 participants and $3,000 in prizes!! Why? Well because it works!! Each year I hear from participants about the ways in which their lives have changed from committing to this fun program. People have gone from walking around the block to running their first 5K; from finishing their only 5K to deciding to complete a half marathon; from dreading the holiday food season to being shocked at losing weight.

Why is this challenge so effective?

Community: Change is easier together. When you see someone else who never worked out in the morning suddenly getting up every day or someone who has declared they hate vegetables trying to incorporate them you realize that change is possible. You may also be thinking “If he/she can do it, then I sure can!”

Competition: No one likes to lose. You may not be overly competitive, but somewhere inside there is the drive to do just a little more than the person next to you…admit it you’ve been on the treadmill at some point and thought I can go faster or longer than so and so next to me. Being competitive is a good thing when it comes to our health, as it can drive us to make changes or stick to a schedule.

Habits: HBBC provides a structure where other habits can also begin to flourish. It sounds silly, but something as simple as tracking your workouts and fruit/veggie servings every day starts to create habits. Suddenly you are thinking of ways to work in movement or add a vegetable to your afternoon snack. Studies have shown that what we measure we change because it allows us to focus on a particular area and fix anything that is not working.

Experts: This year has the added benefit of experts on board to answer questions. If you are concerned adding mileage or trying cross fit, they will be available in the private Facebook Group to help you make the best choice. When they aren’t answering questions, experts will also be providing tips on the website for workouts, injury prevention and healthy food swaps.

Pay Up: The November issue of Runner’s World had an article that also explains why this year will be even better. When you pay for a race or to join a challenge, you feel committed to getting the most out of it so you don’t lose that money. HBBC unlike a race could actually end up paying you since there are weekly prizes and grand prizes based solely on participation!

If you’d like to know more about the challenge and all the great things it includes like ask an expert, #bestfoot instagram pics and tweet chats checkout www.HolidayBootieBusterChallenge.com for more details and to register now.

Your Turn – Have you ever done challenges to help stay on track for the holidays? What tips do you have for staying healthy over the next 2 months?

I LOVE this!! I really think it’s important that during the holidays we don’t freak out over all the foods and parties, but rather learn to enjoy them IN MODERATION while maintaining our fitness routines. We’ve learned that it’s about a combination of diet and exercise (not JUST one) and we need to keep that going through the holidays.

I have never done a challenge to stay on track during the holidays. My tips are to continue my workouts, only eat what treats I love (pick one treat to have a day) and keep it out of the house (bring extras to work/parties, etc).

Great post, Amanda.
I tend to ask myself if it’s worth it when it comes to the holidays. I’ll forgo the usual chocolate/candy/ice cream that I’ll usually indulge on, and instead choose the homemade pies and desserts that only come around once a year! Then I’ll still end up gaining a couple L-B’s by January 1st, haha

I always overindulge during the holidays and even though I keep working out, when I start having more sweets than I’m used to, it becomes an every day occurrence!! Then it’s super hard to break the cycle… uhg!! This challenge could really help!

I think this sounds so great and I love that you are partnering with the Best Body Bootcamp, which I am a part of…when is the deadline to enroll?? Still checking on my workout plans for the next couple of months with races, classes I teach, etc to see if it will fit!!

Awesome! I’ve been thinking about joining, but I’m not sure if I can swing the cash right now. I know, that’s embarrassing, right? But I definitely can’t wait to see how it turns out for everybody participating! I love a good success story.

What a neat idea! I am healthy as a lifestyle- not as a ‘diet’ and people who diet, fall off the bandwagon around the holiday season because they haven’t created a realistic healthy lifestyle for themselves. It’s all balance and moderation!!!

I often do food logging during the holiday season just to keep awareness about what I’m doing. I also schedule in physical activity and events into the holiday season. This year I’ll be skating in a group number in a holiday ice show with a bunch of other adult skaters. As far as the HBBC challenge, it looked intriguing but geared toward people who run/go to the gym/do exercise classes. My main activity is skating, not sure how that would fit in to your challenge.